Fuming But Not Mad

I’m Fuming, though Not Mad

A recovering addict after a lifelong addiction to fragrance, my fascination with the “juice” began during childhood when I’d mosey into my parents’ bedroom to stick my nose where it didn’t belong.  Intrigued by glass goddesses huddled on my mother’s vanity tray, I’d loosen the caps and sniff without dabbing, thinking I pulled one over on them. One day I confessed this transgression to my mother, tearful with remorse, because I clumsily knocked over a porcelain southern belle atomizer. The miniature umbrella dangled, no longer shielding the elegant lady from sunlight and no longer functional to dispense the spicy fragrance forever entombed from that day forward.

Throughout childhood and adolescence I enjoyed receiving cologne on special occasions, recalling Apple Blossom, Daisies Won’t Tell, Chantilly,Tabu, and Evening in Paris . My fragrance addiction flourished throughout adulthood where I acquired many potent goddesses and reveled in their headstrong, commanding, self-assured, dramatic, lavish, opulent compositions:   Pheromone, Giorgio, Paloma Picasso, Ysatis, Caesars Woman, Rapture, Angel, Chanel No. 5, Boudoir, Zen,–a mere tip of the iceberg. Self-professed fragrance addicts cite any number of reasons for their addiction: intellectual, artistic, and spiritual satisfaction; thrill of the hunt; feeling classy while cloaked in the invisible; getting packages in the mail.  Mine is searching for the Holy Grail signature scent. I now realize my addiction escalated to a frenzy commiserate with my restlessness to find my own niche in the Second Act of Life. Having fulfilled my needs, I am no longer dependent upon fragrance to fill a void, though perfume will always remain an expressive part of my life.

As art often imitates life, the protagonist in my debut novel undergoes a midlife renaissance where the “juice” offers incentive for her to find her own niche, sort out matters of the heart, and come to terms with the tenets of her life. “Eva Pasco, who loosely based her novel Underlying Notes on her fragrance addiction, has boxes and trunks and specially made cabinets all over her house for her perfume collection.  She calls herself a “fragrance floozy,” but she’s no eccentric kook.” (March 17, 2008, TIME, “Scents and Sensitivity” by Jeninne Lee- St. John).

Fragrance envelops one in a spiritual ethereality to fortify us against minor annoyances, disturbances, or challenges which prey on a daily basis. As though indulging our olfactory predilections need justification…Whether you consider yourself fragrantly faithful, laying claim to a signature scent, or a fragrant philanderer flitting from fume to fume, there is a “centsible” approach to acquiring glass goddesses funneling perfume.

One must fist dispense with preconceived notions about purchasing the “juice,” those being: shopping the perfume counters of upscale department stores, or insisting upon wearing the latest fragrance launched by an esteemed Perfume House. In fact, the popular discount chains or drugstores carry some of the loveliest lines of fragrances replete with cologne mist, lotion, and body wash for seemingly a song. The Internet is a valuable resource for comparing prices among the multitude of online fragrance vendors who often waive shipping charges with minimal expenditure, plus offer discounts on merchandise conveniently delivered to your door. Most times you can count on finding those beloved obscure fragrances on-line.

Besides dispensing with foraging for fragrances at exclusive department stores and foregoing an expensive launch, do embrace vintage scents of yesteryear. The classics have endured because their configurations of notes render the most beautiful aromatic symphonies. Emeraude (1921), Tabu (1932), and White Shoulders (1949) come to mind. These priceless divas are affordably “centsible.”

We women, by nature, are nurturing souls, often sacrificing and putting the needs of others before our own. Oftentimes, the only time we set aside for ourselves is when grooming. Whether aspiring to sublime skin scents or flamboyant fumes, there is a way for you to emerge smelling like a rose or any other flower for that matter.

Eva Pasco Author, UNDERLYING NOTES   Free Excerpt (Chs 1-3): http://www.booklocker.com/books/4431.html

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Tags: addiction, eva pasco, frangrance addiction, perfume

This entry was posted on April 25, 2010 at 1:04 am and is filed under Health & Beauty. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.